Hyundai Rotem signs hydrogen tram MOU with Egypt at Seoul business roundtable

The industry ministry said Wednesday that Hyundai Rotem and Egypt's tunnel authority signed a memorandum of understanding on a hydrogen tram project for Egypt's new administrative capital, at a Korea-Egypt business roundtable in Seoul.

The agreement covers the introduction of hydrogen mobility for an environmentally friendly transport system in the new capital and opens cooperation between the two countries on railway projects. The signing took place in the presence of Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan.

The roundtable, held at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, was jointly organized by the ministry and Egypt's Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and drew about 30 senior government and business figures from both sides, including four Egyptian cabinet ministers covering foreign affairs, transport, investment and trade, and industry, and the head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority.

The event was arranged around Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's state visit to Korea. The two sides discussed widening collaboration in energy and infrastructure, manufacturing and digital sectors.

Egypt is Korea's third-largest trading partner and largest investment destination in Africa. It sits on the Suez Canal, a position that connects Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and its weight as a regional logistics and production hub is growing.

"The two countries have developed their cooperative relationship on the basis of mutual friendship and trust over more than 30 years since establishing diplomatic ties in 1995," Kim said. "Building on this visit by Egypt's president, we will further expand cooperation in advanced industries such as eco-friendly shipbuilding, future vehicles and defense, and in infrastructure including energy and logistics, and actively support efforts to turn trade and investment between our companies into tangible results, including through pursuit of a Korea-Egypt CEPA."

The roundtable covered three main areas of cooperation: environmentally friendly and advanced industries, energy and logistics infrastructure, and the building of an advanced trade framework.